Change in official channels

Once there were stamps, now there’s a cell phone app

ID Austria promises quick and easy official channels, including via cell phone. Until the turn of the millennium, you still had to "stick".(Bild: BMI/Gerd Pachauer / Scan: Karl Gruber / Krone KREATIV)

Simple and fast official channels - that's the promise of digital public administration. The "Krone" will be taking a closer look in the coming weeks.

Party traffic from eight to twelve o'clock, eternally long queues and an unmanageable war of paperwork: that's how it used to be with official channels. And you also had to "stick". Stamps were still used to pay fees until the turn of the millennium. But with the end of the schilling also came their end. Over 20 years later, the picture is completely different. While analog and personal options still exist, digital access is being pushed particularly strongly.

"ID Austria" is something like a digital ID card for the online world. It has been in regular operation since December 2023 and can be used to access the "Digital Office". From changes of residence to voting cards, first certificates for newborns to tax returns, everything can be done here.

Thousands without a smartphone
But there are hurdles here too, because if the internet goes down, nothing works at all. Use is optimized for smartphones, which means that some Austrians are no longer users. According to a recent Statista study, even in the 50 to 65 age group, twelve percent have neither a smartphone nor a tablet. In Carinthia alone, that's over 16,000 people in this age group who are dependent on personal alternatives, especially the older generations.

The "Krone" helps in the digital jungle
For these Carinthians, plans for a purely digital administration sound more like a dangerous threat. In the coming weeks, the "Krone" will therefore take a look at the state of analog service offerings, which official channels are still available in person and how politics and business are dealing with this change.